Web design has always been a creative discipline, and you could say that trends have nothing to do with creativity. You would be right up to some point, but you should also be aware of the audience that is customers. Not worrying about trends is like making an art house cinema, which is fine if you’re satisfied with a small fan base. But as we live in capitalistic times, we can’t afford to be artists without the audience. That’s why we should look at trends as some evolution of the language of our audience, for every art is a form of communication. In 2017 there were many changes in this communication, and they are the foundation of what’s gonna happen in 2018. So let’s take a look at the next steps of this language evolution that will make your sites innovative and user-friendly, at the same time keeping their beauty and consistency.

1. The world beyond the screen

The first step in successful communication is to pull your listeners into your world. Flat design trends that were popular in the past are not gonna work anymore because they seem too strict and restrictive. People want to see what’s beyond, and your biggest tool for showing them that is shadows. We know, shadows are nothing new in the web design, but web browsers have progressed and allowed some very exciting variations. You can now play with shadows using parallax layouts and grids to achieve depth and create the illusion of the new world behind the screen.

2. Somewhere over the rainbow

Probably every person alive dreams of going over the rainbow, but not many of the web designs have the means to take them there. It is an unwritten rule that you need to stick with ‛safe’ colors, but computer monitors and screens of other devices have technologically advanced and have become able to reproduce richer colors. Every experienced and innovative SEO Agency will emphasize the importance of being courageous with your colors – combining vibrant shades and supersaturation with reimagined headers (some hard angles and slashes) will instantly attract your visitors’ eye and make them want to explore the world on the other side of the rainbow.

3. Lightweight eye candy

It has been proven that videos are real eye candy for your visitors, but some websites have performance issues that don’t allow them to have a video background. There is a simple solution for this problem all you have to do is to make your images move using lightweight JavaScript animations called particle backgrounds. They are made in a way that the movement is a natural part of the background, so the loading time is a piece of cake. If it sounds too good to be true, just look at the impact that similar motion graphics have on social media.

4. Personality & Character

Using motion graphic techniques mentioned above can sometimes seem automated and not live enough, so you might want to spice up things a little bit by adding some personality and character. One of the best ways to bring your site to life is to give it a unique visual voice through custom illustrations. If you find the right artist for the job, he could tailor his art to your brand, giving it personality in a playful manner. No matter what your brand identity is, there is certainly an illustration out there that is a perfect match. People like fun stuff, and if your business is in a more serious sector, these illustrations will make it more approachable to your customers.

5. Every language needs the right letters

The textual content on your site is not there just to provide all the necessary information, but it can also be a powerful visual tool. Typography can be of great assistance in setting the tone of your website as it can build your personality and evoke emotions. There is a great opportunity to use custom fonts now that screen resolutions have become much sharper and easier to read. Big & bold is back in fashion, and if you combine it with serif and sans serif headings, it is the thing that will make your visitors keep reading.

6. Take it apart

The key to attract your customers is to try to give them an active role, and for that, you need to have interactive content. People have always loved solving puzzles and looking for clues. This tendency was recognized already at the beginning of 2017 when unconventional asymmetrical layouts were introduced. This technique of broken layouts is going to be even stronger in 2018 since it has been proven that this design can produce quite balancing layouts. So by breaking it apart, you will be able to create a beautiful balance that is distinctive and unique.

7. Take it with you

And in the end, the thing that probably everyone has been expecting – mobile browsing. There probably isn’t a single person who doesn’t at least occasionally shop on his smartphone, and this browsing has now officially surpassed desktop. There were some issues in the past, like how to create decent menus and submenus on a small screen, but now mobile design is fully mature and large number of users have already adopted it. You might not be able to enjoy the full resolution of high-quality pictures, but it certainly saves space and time with every step.

If you look at this upcoming trends, you’ll see that these are just improvements in the communication. They will allow you to pull the customers to your world, to bribe them with the explosion of colors and to create illusions with a personal touch. These are not rules, but elements of the interactive playground where you’ll be able to fulfill everyone’s deepest desires.